Smoke Jensen, the Beginning

Smoke Jensen, the Beginning
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2015
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 161773716X

On the eve of the Civil War, Kirby Jensen is the youngest of three children living on a hardscrabble ranch in Southwestern Missouri. But in 1861 shots were fired in Charleston harbor, and Kirby's father and brother went to war. Back at home, waves of violence crash over Kriby and his family, until the boy quickly becomes a man, riding with Brigg's Marauders, coming up against violent killers like Frank and Jesse James, and proving his own skill with a gun. For Kirby, the end of the war will bring no peace. His family is shattered by murder and destruction. And his father comes back from battle ravenous for revenge.

Outlaw Country

Outlaw Country
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2021-04-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786047259

Includes an excerpt from Go west, young man: a novel of America.

This Violent Land

This Violent Land
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2016-09-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786036451

Deputy U.S. Marshal Smoke Jensen rides into legend in this powerful frontier adventure from the greatest Western writer of the century. Kirby—later Smoke—Jensen has just earned his first paying job as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Colorado Territory and is sent to the lawless town of Las Animas. There, he finds a sheriff too cowardly to face the outlaw leader Cole Dawson, whose six-gun has left a lot of good men dead. Young Smoke feels no such fear. He takes Dawson down fast. Then the real fight begins. It turns out Dawson is only a cog in a crooked plot hatched by someone hiding behind the law. For a young deputy marshal, going up against the powerful and corrupt is almost certainly a fool’s mission, but doing nothing is not a choice. When Smoke strikes, he’s in all the bloody way, and what follows will become the stuff of legend. Braving bullets, blood, and treachery to face down the most dangerous outlaw in Colorado Territory, Smoke will earn a reputation for justice and the rule of law in a wild, violent frontier. Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone “For most fans of the Western genre, there isn’t a bet much surer than a book bearing the name Johnstone.”—True West “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”—Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action as this old-time hero proves again that a steady eye and quick reflexes are the keys to survival on the Western frontier.”—Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown

When the Shooting Starts

When the Shooting Starts
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2022-05-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786048816

Johnstone Country. Where Legends Are Born. Before he became known as “The Last Mountain Man,” Smoke Jensen and his bride Sally were hardworking ranchers on the Colorado frontier. This is a story of the early years. When times were hard, tensions were high, and guns were the law. . . . WHEN THE SHOOTING STARTS For Smoke and Sally Jensen, the Sugarloaf Ranch is the American Dream come true. A glorious stretch of untamed land near the Colorado-Kansas border, it’s the perfect place to stake their claim, raise some cattle, and start a new family. But when a man claiming to be an army colonel arrives in Big Rock—with a well-armed militia—the Jensens’ dream becomes a living nightmare. This stranger calls himself Colonel Lamar Talbot. He’s come to warn them about a looming war with the Cheyenne Indians. And only he can save them from a bloody massacre—by launching a counterattack that’s even bloodier. . . . Smoke and Sally aren’t sure they trust him. They suspect the colonel and his men are nothing more than brutal vigilantes with a hidden agenda of their own. But the Cheyenne war parties are a very real threat. The tribe’s charismatic leader, Black Drum, is launching raids on local ranches, farms, and the railroads, too. Every day, the violence gets worse and the war moves closer—until it reaches the Sugarloaf Ranch. That’s when Smoke grabs his guns. That’s when the shooting starts—and the final battle begins. . . .

The Morgans

The Morgans
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2021-07-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786047879

Series numbering from publisher's website.

Live by the West, Die by the West

Live by the West, Die by the West
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Total Pages: 540
Release: 2019-02-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786044624

In one volume: two Western adventures from the New York Times–bestselling Smoke Jensen series, featuring the heroic, gunslinging frontiersman. Triumph of the Mountain Man In a land of opportunity, there will be opportunists. But few are as vicious, cruel—or flat-out evil—as Clifton Satterly. This power-hungry robber baron has set his sights on Tua Pueblo, a quiet town in the New Mexico Territory. He plans to seize the timber-rich land through brute force and strip it clean with slave labor. But there’s one thing he didn’t plan on: a one-man wall of resistance named Smoke Jensen . . . Journey of the Mountain Man When it comes to outbursts of violence in the Old West, there’s nothing worse than a range war. They’re fueled by greed, fanned by gunfire, and fated to end in bloodshed, which is why Smoke Jensen would just as soon keep his distance. But when his cousin Fae is involved, he’s got no choice but to strap on his Colts, team up with four old friends—and get ready for a hundred-gun showdown. This is going to be one hell of a fight . . . Live Free. Read Hard

Brannigan's Land

Brannigan's Land
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2022-06-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786048689

The greatest western writers of the 21st century, William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, kick off a blazing new series featuring Tynan “Ty” Brannigan, a man who traded his tin star for a cattle ranch and a family. But the men he left to rot behind bars have their own hash to settle with him… Once a respected lawman in Kansas and Oklahoma, Ty Brannigan ended his career as town marshal of Warknife while he was still young enough to marry, start a family, and raise cattle. Now nearly sixty, he’s a proud husband, father of four, and proprietor of the Powderhorn Ranch on the outskirts of his old stomping grounds. It’s been close to twenty years since Brannigan hung up his six-guns. Now he’s more content wrangling cows than criminals… But for every remorseless outlaw Brannigan put in jail, noosed, or left the vultures, he made even more enemies. Thieves and killers looking to settle old scores have tracked the ex-lawdog to his ranch. They’ve made the mistake of targeting his wife and children—only to discover that Ty Brannigan enforces his own law with a lightning-fast draw and a deadshot aim.

The Jensen Brand

The Jensen Brand
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2017-06-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786040645

In this western series opener by two bestselling authors, a brother and sister team up to save their family and take down cattle rustlers. JENSEN PROUD. JENSEN TOUGH. It’s the dawn of a new century. But on the vast Sugarloaf Ranch not much has changed since legendary gunfighter Smoke Jensen and his wife Sally tamed the land two decades ago. Raising cattle is still a dangerous business—and just as deadly as ever. When Smoke is injured swapping bullets with some cow thieves, Sally puts out a call for help to Matt, Ace, and the rest of the Jensen clan. But time is running out. The bloodthirsty rustlers are ready to strike again—and there are lots more of them. And the Sugarloaf’s last defense is Smoke and Sally’s next of kin… Enter the Jensen twins. Denise and her brother Louis have just returned home from their schooling in Europe. Louis is studying to be a lawyer and is too sickly to defend the ranch. But Denise is to the manor born—she can ride like a man, shoot like her daddy, and face down the deadliest outlaws like nobody’s business. And there’ll be plenty opportunity to prove she’s got Jensen blood in her veins—cold, deadly, and playing for keeps…

Law of the Mountain Man

Law of the Mountain Man
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2000-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780786013012

Smoke Jensen sat in a cave sure of only two things: he was cold, and it was winter. He had no idea why anyone was after him. He'd soon find out that he'd unwittingly ridden into the middle of the fiercest range war in years. Now Smoke had to either choose sides or return home across the back of a horse.